Sprawled on the turf, face-down, senior captain Johnny Mulvahill found himself tangled with Orono’s goalkeeper, but none of this mattered. All that mattered was the fact that Mulvahill had just put the ball in the back of the net, and the Red Knights won the section semi-final game. This and many similar success scenarios displayed Mulvahill’s exceptional talent, earning him the title of Mr. Soccer.
Mulvahill received the award with much humility at the state tournament banquet on Sunday, Oct. 23, shocked and humbled by an honor that always seemed out of reach. “I remember when I was a sophomore playing against the soon to be Mr. Soccer, Paul Yonga, and thinking about how good he was. I have always looked up to players like that, but never considered myself at that level,” said Mulvahill.
Despite his modesty, Mulvahill’s soccer résumé is something to brag about, consisting of 16 goals and 12 assists to his credit this season, along with 21 goals and 15 assists throughout his high school career. As a two-year captain and member of the All-State team and the All-Metro First Team, Mulvahill’s abilities deserve the recognition.
“He was just an all-around player that could make something out of nothing. Whenever we had an open position, either defense, midfield, or where he normally played, forward, he was always able to play that position, and play it well. He also just had really good ball control and was able to take the ball and mount attacks involving the entire team,” said senior teammate Brian Tobelmann.
Mulvahill has been striving for a state-title for three years and has one last opportunity to claim this victory, not only for himself, but for the teammates he’s been with through it all. “Our goal is to win state. We have 17 seniors, many of which have been playing with each other since we were kids,” said Mulvahill.
With the approach of the final state championship game, the boys’ soccer team looks to Mulvahill for the leadership and talent necessary to contiune with future successes. “I have mainly tried to make sure we don’t look over any team. The past two years we were upset in sections, and I wanted to make sure we took every team seriously,” said Mulvahill.
Reaching this level of success does not come without sacrifices. Mulvahill plays for the Minnesota Thunder Academy outside of high school soccer, leaving him with close to no free time. “I’ve played soccer year round and given up the dream of other sports like basketball so I can play on a high level club soccer team,” said Mulvahill.
